The Next Person Zinke and Trump Are Pushing to Sell-Off Public Lands: Karen Budd-Falen

Mass shootings, Trump in China, a special session for the legislature. While your head is turned at one or more of the outrageous, unprecedented, or distracting events of the day Donald Trump and Ryan Zinke are quietly putting in place the framework to sell-off public lands, gut National Monuments and open up National Parks to unprecedented extraction industries.

The newest method is Karen Budd-Falen. Who? Exactly, we must know who she is so we can understand the threat she presents to all we hold deal in our treasured public lands. Budd-Falen is a lifelong advocate of the transfer of public lands and has developed a specialty in lobbying local elected officials to implement legally questionable measures to wrest public lands from citizens and give control to big-monied special interests.

Karen Budd-Falen may be the next head of the Bureal of Land Management under President Trump so her words and actions need to be watched carefully as she

Manzella is considering hosting Budd-Falen on her own; she’s not sure whether it would be open to the public or an invitation-only event. She believes all five commissioners could attend if she held the meeting, and said that there’s “some ambiguity” on whether public comment would need to be accepted as it is when the county hosts a meeting.

“All they would need to do is properly notice it and they can attend if they so choose,” she said.

On Wednesday, Manzella asked the commission to reconsider hosting the event. Personally, she’s facing a time crunch with the possibility of a special legislative session, and said with the short notice she’s having trouble finding a venue to host Budd-Falen.

“But she does have some time on her schedule to come on the 17th. She could do an evening presentation or a daytime presentation on the 18th,” Manzella said.

An event in Ravalli county is tentatively scheduled for this upcoming Friday, the 17th or possibly Saturday the 18th of November.

I will keep you noticed of any meeting that is planned.

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